Paper cutter



Feb. 9, 1943. D T, HELPRW 2,310,839

PAPER CUTTER Filed Dec. 22, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2v lNvENToR wl'rN assesi lign/icl "T Helix/'in Y Y l BY l ATTORYEVTV Patented Feb. 9, 1943NUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER CUTTER David T. Helprn, New York, N.Y. Application December 22, 1941, Serial No. 423,961 7 claims. (C1.164-73) This invention relates to cutting machinery, and moreparticularly to machinery designed to cut paper. In many operationsinvolving the cutting and trimming of paper in the printing industry andin office work, it is desirable and essential that a plurality of sheetsbe cut accurately to a specific size. This is diiiicult with presentequipment since most paper cutters are supplied with a knife having ashearing action which tends to cut unevenly when a substantial number ofsheets are cut at one time.

The purpose of this invention is toV provide a three-way cutter whichwill not only cut a large number of sheets accurately and cleanly butwhich may also be used as a rule, a measuring unit, and an accuratepunch.

A further object is to provide a cutting machine in which the accuracyof the machine may be controlled to a Very small fraction of an inch,and in which the cutting element must travel in the desired path.

A further object is to provide a device of the character described inwhich an inexpensive, replaceable cutting element, such as a razorblade, may be used.

With these and other objects in view, reference is had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a machineembodying my invention, partly cut away;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;'

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view of la modified form ci cutting element.

I provide a base I9 having a top II. rhe top II is provided with achannel I2 running longitudinally of its length in a straight line.Mounted at one end of the top II are two pins I4 and I5 adapted toreceive and position through openings therein a hinge member I5.Hingedly connected to the hinge member I6 is lan arm I1. The arm I1 isrectangular in shape and is made up of two bars, one bar slightly widerthan the other. The wider bar has an edge I8 which may be used as arule; the narrow bar has a ruling edge |9. The inner edge of both barsis beveled to prevent the blade from cutting into the bars.

At the opposite end of the top I are two angle bars 2|] and 2| firmlyaiilxed to the top by means of screws 22. The angle bars and 2| Contactbetween the arm I1 and the carri-age.

are spaced to form an opening 23 so that the arm I1 may be positionedbetween them and rmly held to prevent any sliding movement. Mounted ateither end of the arm I1 are the posts 25 and 23 and positioned throughsaid posts is the rod 21. The rod 21 passes through the opening 28 inthe post 26 and the corresponding opening 29 in the post 25 and isfirmly positioned by means of a thumb screw 30.

Mounted for sliding movement on the rod 21 is a blade-carrying carriage3|. This carriage is provided with a plurality of rollers 32 whichposition the carriage on the rod 21 and prevent it from rocking. Thebottom of the carriage 33 terminates above the arm I1 so that there isno A handle 34 is provided for convenient operation of the carriage.

At the lower portion of the carriage there is A an angle plate 35fastened to the carriage by a thumb screw 36 and positioned by the pins31. The angle plate V35 is adapted to hold a razor blade 38 so that itscutting edge 39 will extend through the slot '40 in the arm I1. Sincethe slot 4|] is positioned immediately over the slot I2, the blade vwillextend through the arm into the slot I2.

It will be readily understood that paper, such as indicated by thedotted lines 4|, will be inserted under the'arm I1 and the carriage 3|slid to the other end of the rod, thus cutting the paper along the slot4I) as desired. Since from time to time a largenumber of sheets will beplaced in the cutter at one time, thumb screws 42 in the hinge membersI6 and 43 at the end of the arm are provided to raise or lower theposition of the arm. A latch 44 is provided to hold the arm in the downposition, and it will be understood that by the use of the thumb screws42 and 43 the arm I1 may be raised so that the paper to be cut may beslid under the arm I1 without raising the arm for each operation. Thecarriage 3| is so mounted on the rod 21 that it will readily slidethereon. The pick-up of the end of the arm |1 suiiiciently to remove cutpaper will be enough to cause the carriage 3| to return to the post 28,However, a reel 50 having a coil spring 5| with a thong 52 Wound thereonmay be provided to automatically return the carriage las soon as it isreleased. The end of the thong 52 is engaged to the pin 53 and as thecarriage is moved toward the operator the spring is Wound. Immediatelyupon releasing the handle the spring and thong will return the carriagetoward the post 28.

Scales 56 and 5'| are provided so that the operator may readily measurethe paper being cut. A movable stop 53 held on the angle bar 2| by meansof the set screw 59 may also be used and a punch 60 may be mounted in anopening in the angle bar 2| to punch the paper after it has been cut.The punch 60 is held in position against the bracket 62 by a singlescrew 6| and is recessed into the top as shown in Fig. 5. The bracket 62is fastened to the angle bar 2|. Since several sizes of holes may bedesirable, the punch is readily replaceable by a larger or smaller oneby the simple operation of removing the screw 6|.

A holder for old blades is provided at 65, this holder consisting of twopins 66 and 61 to position the blades, a covering plate 68, and a screw69 to hold the plate in position. It will be readily seen that when yablade is dulled or chipped, the angle plate 35 may be removed by takingoi the screw 36 and the blade reversed on the pins 31. In order that theoperator may know Whether a blade has been used, a groove 10 in the endof the arm is provided to break 01T the end of the blade as indicated at12.

While for all practical purposes a carriage carrying a single blade issuicient, certain types of work require cutting on both movements of thecarriage. Where this type of work is required, a carriage l5 (as shownin Fig. 6) is useful. It will be appreciated that this carriage carriestwo blades 76 and 'I7 oppositely positioned so that the cutter may workregardless of which direction the carriage is moved.

It will also be appreciated that while I have shown the handle member 34fastened by screws to the carriage, the entire assembly may be welded inone piece or made in any other convenient form.

I claim:

1. A paper cutting machine including a base, a channel in said baserunning longitudinally thereof, a hinge member at one end of said baseastride said channel, an arm on said hinge member, a slot in said arm,posts adjacent each end of said arm, a rod mounted in said posts, acarriage slidably mounted on said rod, a cutting member on said carriageextending through said slot in said arm into said channel, and resilientmeans for yieldingly maintaining said carriage at one end of said rod.

2. A paper cutting machine comprising a base, an arm pivotally mountedat one end of said base, angle bars at the opposite end of said baseadapted to engage the sides of said arm, a slot in said arm extendinglongitudinally thereof, a rod positioned above said arm, a carriagemounted for sliding movement on said rod said carriage being providedwith spaced rollers engaging said rod, and a blade positioned on saidcarriage extending through said slot.

3. A paper cutting machine including a base, an arm hingedly connectedat one end of said base, angle bars positioned adjacent the other end ofsaid base, said angle bars being spaced to accommodate said arm, and astop member mounted on one of said angle bars adapted to slide thereonand to be fixed at any desired position thereon.

4. A cutting machine comprising a base, a channel in said base, an armpivoted at one end thereof astride said channel, angle bars on said baseadjacent the opposite end thereof, said angle bars being spaced toaccommodate said arm and to position said arm whereby each longitudinaledge of said arm and said angle bars will at all times form a rightangle, a rod mounted on and above said arm, and a carriage carrying acutting member slidably mounted on said rod.

5. A paper cutting machine comprising a base, a channel in said base, anarm pivoted at one end to said base, a carriage positioned above saidarm for sliding movement, a cutting member in said carriage, and meansfor raising and lowering the position of said arm with relation to saidbase to vary the distance between said arm and said base when saidmachine is in operating position.

6. A device of the character described including a base, a channel insaid base, an arm pivotally mounted at one end of said base, a pair ofangle bars at the other end of said base mounted at right angles to saidarm and at each side thereof, a scale parallel to said angle bars, anadjustable stop monuted on said angle bars, and a punch removablymounted on said angle bars.

7. A paper cutting machine comprising a base, a channel in said base, anarm mounted above said base, a slot in said arm, means for positioningsaid arm with relation to said channel, a rod mounted on and above saidarm, a carriage slidably mounted on said rod, a cutting member carriedby said carriage extending through said slot in said channel, a thongengaging said carriage, and spring means for exerting pressure on saidthong to yieldingly maintain said carriage at one end of said rod.

DAVID T. HELPRIN.

